Closets and Cupids
by ShardsandAshes
Summary: Two stubborn wizards, one equally stubborn house elf, and a locked broom closet in the Ministry of Magic. Percy Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt aren't even going to know what hit them.


**Disclaimer****: I don't own it, and I make no money off of it. Please don't sue me.**

**AN****: The prompt for this story was "locked in a closet." It revolves around the slash pairing of Percy Weasley/Kingsley Shacklebolt. Kingsley is the Minister of Magic, and Percy is his Senior Undersecretary. **

"This has got to be the oldest cliché in the book," Kingsley said as he tried spell after spell on the closet door to no avail. Percy had already tried every spell he knew, but they had hoped that being the Minister of Magic might make the Ministry building more willing to obey Kingsley. Clearly, they had been mistaken.

Percy sighed. "Being locked in a closet? Yes, I've heard that one. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised. After all, this is the Ministry of Magic. Magic does have a tendency to work incorrectly sometimes. I just wish we hadn't been the victims."

Kingsley glanced in his direction. "Do you object to my company?"

The dark eyes drifted over him like a caress, and Percy shifted uncomfortably.

"No, of course I don't. It's just that there is so much that we need to get done today, and we can't exactly summon our paperwork through walls." That wasn't technically the whole answer to Kingsley's question, but Percy was counting on Kingsley not realizing that he was hedging his response.

Unfortunately for Percy, it didn't work.

"Percy, what's the real reason? We've been working together for almost two years now, and I can tell when you're leaving something out." He sat down on the floor of the broom closet that, oddly enough, did actually contain an assortment of old flying brooms.

Seeing Kingsley sitting there in his robes on the dusty floor was enough to shake Percy from his anxiety. Abruptly, he sat down beside the Minister of Magic, glancing sidelong at the man even as a slight blush colored his cheeks.

"People will make assumptions if we're found here together." Percy could not bring himself to glance back at the other wizard a second time. Kingsley's hand lightly tracing the curve of his chin startled him.

"Perhaps they will," Kingsley said softly. "Is that what bothers you?"

The younger wizard swallowed hard, leaning into Kingsley's touch despite himself but still not meeting his eyes.

"It will harm your career. I am your subordinate. It is not appropriate." Percy stopped talking as Kingsley's hand gently turned his face so that he had no choice but to look at the other man. What he saw in the Minister's dark eyes took his breath away.

"Percy, how can you be so observant of every detail of your job and mine and yet so oblivious to my own emotions and yours?" Kingsley smiled, reaching out to rest his other hand on the blue clad shoulder. "Damn the public and the protocol. You've done it before. You can do it again. When you left your post at the Ministry to fight in the battle beside your family, you did it." He let his hands cup Percy's face. "Wake up, sleeping lion. I want to hear you roar."

Percy's control snapped. The Minister had pushed him past the point where he could resist, and he threw caution to the wind, reaching out to grab Kingsley's face and pull him into a kiss. He was going mostly on instinct, having had very little firsthand experience, and Kingsley realized it. Strong hands slid into Percy's red hair, guiding him and leading him until he got the idea and proved himself to be a very quick learner.

Now that Percy had given in, the Minister surrendered all pretense of restraint and dragged the younger man into his lap. Their kiss turned frantic as Percy straddled the older wizard and ground himself against him. His glasses were askew on his face, his head thrown back, his robes tangled up and half unbuttoned around his waist.

Kingsley looked just as bad. The Minister of Magic sat on the dusty floor, his hands buried under his Senior Undersecretary's clothing, his own robes shoved out of the way of his thrusting hips. He hadn't bargained on this outcome when he had started this, but he wasn't about to say no.

They screamed as they came, still mostly dressed, and collapsed on the floor of the closet. For a few moments, their panting was the only sound in the tiny room. Kingsley was the first to stir, reaching out to shift Percy to a more comfortable position even as he drew his wand and cast cleaning charms over them both.

"Thanks." Percy's blush was even more prominent. He looked so helplessly debauched that Kingsley had to laugh and then reach out to kiss his forehead in tender reassurance.

"It's okay, Percy. Do you realize how long I've wanted this? I just hope that you're okay with it." Kingsley stared uncertainly into his aide's blue eyes.

Percy swallowed. "I'm more than okay. I've wanted this since the day you made me your secretary. But Merlin, how was I ever supposed to say anything? You're the Minister of Magic. You're not an easy person to ask out on a date."

Kingsley laughed. "Point taken. Perhaps now, we can get past that point without so much difficulty."

Percy smiled, and it transformed his face into something beautiful. "Are you free for dinner tonight?"

Kingsley eyed him shrewdly. "I'd love to. But you realize that people are going to see us."

The younger wizard squared his shoulders. "Let them. If you're okay with it, so am I."

Kingsley smirked. "Agreed." He hesitated. "I suppose we should check that door and see if it's still locked."

"I suppose we should." Percy's reply was less than enthusiastic. "After all, we do have work that needs to be done."

Neither man moved for several minutes. Finally, Kingsley drew his wand and cast several spells on the door. One was a silencing charm. The other one was a locking charm. Percy smirked, raising his eyebrows.

Their work would wait a while.

Two hours later, the Minister of Magic and his Senior Undersecretary were rescued from the closet by a squad of aurors who had searched the Ministry to locate them. The two men were pale but composed and were more than happy to spend the rest of the day supplying possibilities for what magical mishap might have been responsible for trapping them in the closet in the first place.

The aurors were so wrapped up in their arguments that they forgot about the Minister and his aide entirely, and no one saw them slip away, bound for a fine wizarding restaurant…and eventually Kingsley Shacklebolt's bed.

Almost no one, that is. There was a small pop as Kingsley's favorite house elf disappeared, hurrying away to make sure that everything would be ready for her master to finally bring his partner home. She had known that the two men were meant for each other from the first time that she saw them together. They had just needed the proper coaxing, and house elf magic was impervious to wizarding intervention…even a wizard as formidable as Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Kingsley's mother had named the house elf Cupid.


End file.
